The disclosures herein relate generally to cable storage and more particularly to a cable spool for an AC power adaptor.
Electronic devices such as AC adaptors are provided in a housing. The housing includes an AC connector and a DC connector so that both AC and DC cables can be attached to the housing when the adaptor is to be used. The adaptor and the cables must be stored when not in use. Storage of the cables needs to be accomplished in a non-bulky and tangle-free manner.
As AC power adaptors have become smaller and smaller, the size of the AC and DC cables has become a larger portion of the overall travel space required. The cables tend to be very bulky and tangle while stored in carrying cases. A clean way of wrapping both AC and DC cables is needed.
It would be a time saver to be able to wrap the cables around the housing so that the cables do not have to be removed from the housing and coiled separately for storage. Therefore, a cable management device is desirable for AC adaptors. Most AC adaptors have no cable management designed in. Some AC adaptors have cable managers that have folding pieces that tend to break easily. Some AC adaptors have molded-in cable managers that do not have the flexibility to be removed.
Therefore, what is needed is a cable management apparatus and method provided on an electronic device such as an AC adaptor such that a removable cable management device is provided for the adaptor housing.
One embodiment, accordingly, provides a cable manager on the AC adaptor which can be used as a guide to wrap both the AC and DC cables around the adaptor housing. To this end, an electronic housing has a cable connector therein and a cable spool for a cable. The spool includes spaced apart guide members extending from the housing, whereby a cable is wrapped around the housing between the guide members.
A principal advantage of this embodiment is that it provides for non-bulky cable storage in a tangle-free manner.